Creative Opportunities

By James A. Long

We have all seen people get emotionally heated over the fact that nothing is
being done about this, that, or the other thing. They would revolutionize the world
from the outside in, which is like healing a boil from the outside only to have
it come out later with interest compounded. But we must deal with causes, not with
effects. We are experiencing the ills of the body of humanity, and these ills must
be cured from within.

Mankind is progressing beyond the idea of national borders, and it is our task
to recognize not only our individual responsibility but our opportunity to exemplify
that we are brothers, regardless of race or nation or color. We cannot change outer
conditions overnight, nor in a decade, a quarter of a century, a century, nor even
in a millennium, but we can head in that direction. And to the degree that we as
individuals recognize, work with, and cling to that inner unity, to that degree
will we influence the hearts and minds of those with whom we come in contact, without
our having to say a word.

We need to think of the world situation today in its true perspective, where
each nation or circumstance is but one small aspect of the whole. We must think
of all our brothers, everywhere, and observe the three fundamental forces operative
in the universe: that which creates, that which preserves the status quo, and that
which destroys. We must view the situation, not by the words of politicians, not
by the words of religionists or scientists or anybody else, but by the unfoldment
of their actions and their effect upon the world. Then we can see what is creative
and for the benefit of all, and what is destructive and for the benefit of the few;
what is heading humanity toward real progress, and what toward stagnation or destruction.

My concept of the law of retributive justice is that there is no such thing as
good or bad karma. This law of justice brings a reaction to every action and thought
that we have, and the effects are nothing more nor less than opportunity. The result
of an action, once it becomes an effect, is dead. The only thing that can give it
further life is our wrong reactions to that effect. Karma as opportunity gives everybody
the same possibility of growth: we may not be able to tell the world the thoughts
we have, but we can exemplify our reactions to the circumstances in which we find
ourselves.

Why are we here, as individuals or as mankind? We as individuals and as a whole
humanity are here in this school of life to learn its lessons. The only teacher
that any of us has is life: humanity must evolve through that which it
has before it. The only way we can learn, and help the divinity within the heart
of each one of us to unfold, is by allowing the qualities of our whole constitution
to become more like that divine spark at the core of us. We do this by meeting with
understanding the effects of former acts and thoughts. What will help us to understand
these effects is to experience them, and when we experience them, if we are foolish
enough to do nothing constructive about them, then by our reactions and our revulsion
from so-called unpleasant circumstances, we extend these experiences further and
further until finally we wake up and realize that we are objecting to nothing but
ourselves. All we need do is recognize this fact and temper our reactions to the
circumstances we find ourselves in, if we are to meet those circumstances with the
right attitude.

We are not going to affect the hearts and minds of our fellows with billboards,
headlines, or any words at all, but by the very manner in which we react to the
circumstances life finds us in. If we are self-­consciously working on this job,
we have a marvelous opportunity. Reacting creatively and with a will to correct
past errors we will automatically impress upon the consciousness of those with whom
we come in contact the quality of our reaction, and give them some inspiration,
however little, to try to do likewise.